BySavious Kwinika, CorrespondentJuly 28, 2010

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (r.) is greeted by First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit as he steps off the plane from Chad, in Khartoum July 23. The African National Congress (ANC) says it will not hesitate to arrest President Bashir if he came to South Africa.

Addressing former political prisoners at the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg on Tuesday, ANC deputy secretary general, Thandi Modise, said South Africa was not a haven for people who violate people's rights.

"If Bashir were to come to South Africa today, we will definitely implement what we are supposed to in order to bring the culprit to Hague," said Ms. Modise, referring to the arrest warrant the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued for Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his handling of the conflict in the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur.

"We can't allow a situation whereby an individual tramples on people's rights and gets away with it," Modise told the Monitor in an interview after the meeting. "The perpetrators of war crimes should be tried at all costs."

The ANC's stand comes in stark contrast that of the nation of Chad, which hosted Bashir last week, despite being an ICC signatory. The ICC has requested that any member arrest Bashir upon arrival in the country, but the mayor of Chad's capital, N'Djamena, gave Bashir the key to the city when Bashir arrived.